What is an Omnichannel Commerce Suite?

An omnichannel commerce suite is an integrated commerce solution that enables retailers and brands to centrally manage products, inventory, orders, content and sales channels. Webshops, physical stores, marketplaces and other sales channels all use the same data and processes.

The goal is not to put as much functionality as possible into a single system, but to organize the most important commerce processes from one central foundation, so that online and offline work together effectively.

A webshop is a sales channel, omnichannel is much more

A webshop is primarily focused on online sales. In omnichannel commerce, products, inventory and orders need to be available across multiple channels. A store can simultaneously serve as a sales channel, inventory location, pickup point, return location and fulfilment location.

The webshop is therefore not the centre of commerce, but one of the channels within a broader operation.

What does an Omnichannel Commerce Suite include?

Not every omnichannel commerce suite consists of exactly the same components. At its core, however, a suite should be able to manage the key processes across different sales channels.

Product information and content
Product information should be managed centrally and made available to webshops, stores, marketplaces and other channels. This includes product descriptions, images, attributes, categories and translations.

Inventory
Inventory can be spread across warehouses, stores, suppliers and other locations. The suite can determine which inventory is available through which channel. Store inventory, for example, can be displayed or sold online.

Orders and fulfilment
Orders can come in through different channels and follow different routes. An order can be shipped from a warehouse, picked up in a store or shipped directly from a store. Central order management determines how and from which location an order is processed.

Webshops and sales channels
An omnichannel commerce suite can manage multiple webshops and sales channels from one central environment. Product information, content, assortments, pricing and inventory can be managed centrally and used for each webshop, country, brand or target group.

This means you do not have to build and manage a separate commerce environment for every webshop.

Stores
Physical stores become part of the overall commerce operation. This means processes such as click & collect, ship from store and in-store returns become part of the same order and inventory processes.

Integrations
ERP, POS, WMS, payments, logistics, loyalty and other specialized solutions can be connected to the suite.

How does an Omnichannel Commerce Suite work in practice?

A customer views a pair of shoes online. The central warehouse is out of stock, but the shoes are still available in two stores. The customer sees this store inventory online and chooses to pick up the product that same afternoon.

After the order is placed, it is automatically assigned to the right store. The store reserves the product and the available inventory is immediately updated. If the customer later wants to return the product, this can also be done in-store.

For the customer, this is one simple purchase. Behind the scenes, the webshop, store inventory, order processing and store processes work together as one operation.

What is the difference between an e-commerce platform and an Omnichannel Commerce Suite?

An e-commerce platform is primarily designed for online sales. For organizations that sell exclusively online, this can be exactly the right solution.

Many e-commerce platforms can now also support omnichannel capabilities such as store inventory, click & collect and ship from store. The difference therefore lies not only in the available functionality, but primarily in how that functionality is organized.

In an omnichannel commerce suite, products, inventory and orders are designed from the ground up to be used across different sales channels and inventory locations.

A suite does not mean everything has to be in one system

An omnichannel commerce suite does not need to replace all the technology within an organization.

A retailer may, for example, use an ERP for financial and business processes, a POS system for its stores and a WMS for its warehouse. Specialized solutions can also be used for payments, logistics, loyalty and personalization.

The suite forms the central commerce layer to which these systems connect. This allows specialized solutions to continue doing what they do best, while the most important commerce processes are organized centrally.

When do you need an Omnichannel Commerce Suite?

For a pure player that sells exclusively online, an e-commerce-first solution can be an excellent fit. An omnichannel commerce suite becomes particularly relevant when online and physical sales become part of the same operation.

This can already be the case with a single webshop and a few stores. For example, when store inventory needs to be available online, customers want to pick up or return orders in-store, or stores become part of fulfilment.

The need for central management can also increase when an organization operates across multiple inventory locations, countries, brands or business units.

For pure players with concrete omnichannel ambitions, it can make sense to take this into account at an earlier stage. This avoids having to redesign the technical foundation once physical stores become part of the commerce operation.

What are the benefits of an Omnichannel Commerce Suite?

A well-designed omnichannel commerce suite makes more inventory available for sale, gives customers more ways to buy and enables orders to be processed more efficiently across different locations.

It also makes it easier to add new channels, locations and fulfilment options without having to redesign the commerce operation every time.

NextChapter as an Omnichannel Commerce Suite

NextChapter was built from the ground up for omnichannel commerce. The multiˣ suite brings Webshops & CMS, PIM, OMS, marketplaces and integrations together within one central suite.

Store inventory can be displayed and sold online, orders can be fulfilled from different inventory locations, and processes such as click & collect, ship from store and in-store returns can be managed centrally.

ERP, POS, WMS, payments, logistics, loyalty and other specialized solutions can connect to the suite.

This enables retailers and brands to organize their online and physical commerce from one foundation, without having to add separate solutions and processes for every new omnichannel capability.